Have you ever wondered
why flies are so hard to swat? A team of scientists at the University
of California at Berkeley is cracking the mysteries of these amazing creatures,
dubbed "nature's fighter jets."

"Flies
are nature's fighter jets," says Michael Dickinson, 37, professor of Integrative
Biology at the University of California at Berkeley.

They
make lightning-fast 90-degree turns, take off or land upside down, and
even carry twice their body weight.

"They're
arguably the most aerodynamically sophisticated of all flying animals,"
says Dickinson.

But until recently, scientists didn't know how flies stayed airborne.

When researchers applied conventional laws of aerodynamics to flies, they
determined that flies shouldn't be able to fly at all -- their tiny wings
seemed too small to support their body weight.

To
crack the mysteries of insect flight, Dickinson and a team of UC Berkeley
scientists built several high-tech devices, including fly flight
simulators and "Robofly," a huge set of robotic
wings that flap in oil. Dickinson is also working with a team of UC
Berkeley engineers to build an insect-sized flying robot.

Over
the last five years, they have made astonishing insights into insect aerodynamics,
physiology, and behavior.